Krav Maga, an Israeli martial art defence system developed in the 1940s during World War II, is fast gaining popularity in South Africa. Rosebank's Primal Gym owner and trainer, Ryan Davies, says after being a victim of violent crime in 2008, he went to Israel to learn Krav Maga with the aim of bringing the self-defence system to South Africa. Davies says a lot of people are using Krav Maga as an alternative to usual gym routines, as it also offers something practical.

Ryan Davies A.C.T director South Africa break down of knife vs knife sparring. Knife combat like all combat defiantly has algorithms and human patterns that can be study, trained and exploited to win in combat. Above is a very good example of this. You can clearly see Ryan testing his opponents reactions followed by setting up tactics to create a win.

Noah Gross Knife fighting and self defence seminar February 18th & 19th 2017. Noah has be an instrumental part of setting up A.C.T South Africa. We are proud to call him our teacher. In this promotion we cover why most people do A.C.T and why is it relevant to their lives.

Brage Page with a beautiful perfectly timed counter to the face off a solid block. Blocking is relevant in knife combat as it is relevant in all combat. You can block a knife and end the fight. The factors that come it to play is timing and range. A successful block works when your opponent cuts or stabs with a strong forward moving pressure covering range. He essentially step into a trap.

A complication of sparring and wins knife vs knife. This is what A.C.T is all about. Full contact sparring with safe training simulators the “spatha”. A.C.T covers one on one sparring, MO multiple opponents, empty hand vs knife. The full arsenal of combat with and without weapons.

Street Survival System integration Armed Combat & Tactics. Under the pressure of MO multiple opponents- a street style gang attack, this video shows one example of how to transition from empty hand striking, to drawing you EDC carry. For safety in training we are using the A.C.T street Spatha training simulator.

There are no rules to armed confrontation, however that does not mean the laws of the universe do not exist here. The example above shows the danger of forward aggression in armed combat. You simply should not rush into a sharp object, especially against a well trained or experienced opponent.

Think about how many martial arts teach you to go forward at all costs. The phrase “ if you are not going forward then you are not wining the fight”. Nothing could be more untrue when it comes to an armed fight. Martial Arts that teach you to shoot in will not work here, they have no context here.

Knowing and having the skill to rush counter comes from trying and studying the mental physiology of why people feel the pressure to rush in a fight, armed or unarmed. Studying how to created pressure on your opponent, so he rushes as an emotional response and exploiting that with in him.

A clean strike to the face can stop the fight. The shock of impact or being cut on the eye, it’s an unpleasant experience to say the least. We train with professional safe training simulators “ The Spatha” designed by Alexander Zheleniak and Noah Gross. The Spatha is designed for full contact fighting. We are able to hit each other with full force and not cause major injury. The Spathas keeps you safe and protective goggles are worn to protect the eyes and nose. Notice even with a safe knife training simulator and protective goggles the shock factor fo being hit in the face- it most often stops the fight. Image the real thing impact or edge weapon in reference to self defence and the value of the face shot to stop an attacker.

Ryan Davies has been training in and experimenting with many martial arts since he was a child. It’s hard to say how many influences he has had over the years. The one thing that is certain is that he endlessly pursues knowledge in combat.

Born and raised in Johannesburg South Africa, Ryan has been exposed to the reality of violence and criminal mentality. This has shaped him to become critically aware of his need for self defence. This factor alone is what motivated him to open a school of martial arts and self defence. Ryan has concluded that the in-depth study of weapons is essential to combat and self defence. Ryan continues to travel to Israel as frequently as possible for continuous training. He is the head combat coach at PRIMAL GYM.

2008

Ryan Davies was living in in Golders Green London, already a fighter and competitive martial artist competing in both Chinese Sanda and thai boxing matches and tournaments. Ryan would be introduced 1st to Krav Maga in Hendon London. and that’s when it all started. He quit his job to pursue a life of combat training and teaching. All of Ryans teaching certificate have been studied, passed, and earned directly in Israel.

2009

1stinstructor certification in 2009 at a military base just out side London. CKM Krav Maga